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A Univ. of Calf., Riverside professor of public policy and political science, KARTHICK RAMAKRISHNAN, did a poll asking a question about affirmative action (AA):
"Do you favor or oppose affirmative action programs designed to help blacks, women and other minorities get better jobs and education?"
He found 69% AsAms supporting AA. Even among Chinese Ams. 60% are in support.
This professor THEREBY concluded that "These findings point to the likelihood that the opposition to SCA-5 was probably the result of selective mobilization among those Asian American voters opposed to the measure, rather than a sign of drastically shifting opinion among Asian American voters against affirmative action"
The above interpretation of the poll was actually published as an op-ed page article at LA Times.
I was amazed & amused. Does such a jump in logic pass as scholarly research now? The following is my answer to the conclusions of this professor:
"Amazing. This professor doesn't seem to know the difference between AA and "race conscious" college admissions. The Stop-SCA 5 was focused on "race-conscious" admissions only. It was NOT about AA in general.
Affirmative action is broad, it includes (1) employment, (2) government contracts and (3) college/school admissions. AA is, as the poll has phrased it, "designed to HELP blacks, women and other minorities get better jobs and education?" However, "race-conscious" college admissions is only one of the 3 components of AA. In addition, it turns out to HURT Asian Americans, blacks and Hispanics. Asian-Am students had to give white college applicants 140 points on the SAT in order to gain equal access to first-tier colleges. Black and Hispanics students were HURT by the "academic mis-match" phenomenon - needing to switch out of STEM & law majors.
In other words, the "race-conscious" college admissions policy is ANTI-affirmative. That was why stop-SCA-5 succeeded.
The poll was done correctly. The professor just doesn't know how to interpret it. There is a lesson here. One needs to know the differences between apples and oranges."
Pass this e-newsletter to students at UC, Riverside so that they may know whose courses NOT to take, for his demonstrated lack of clear-thinking. :-)
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